Game 140: The Citi sleeps

At the start of the homestand on Friday, Mets manager Terry Collins heaped praise upon the reconfiguration at Citi Field. Moving in the fences, he said, has turned his team's home field into a fair ballpark. As colleague David Lennon noted in the paper this morning, other teams may follow suit.

But lately, the Mets haven't taken advantage of their news digs.

"We've got to make this a place where we're dangerous," Collins said.

But this weekend, the only danger involved so far is actually watching the Mets hit on their own home field. Or not hit. In nine straight games at Citi Field, the Mets have failed to score more than three runs. Only two more punchless games separates these Mets from equalling the franchise record.

Collins hardly has any easy answers on hand. But he's starting Justin Turner at shortstop over Ruben Tejada in hopes jolting the offense. He admits that the sample size is small -- Turner is 3-for-4 lifetime with a pair of homers against Braves starter Tommy Hanson (12-8, 4.40) -- but he believes it's worth a shot.

"It seems like when he's in the lineup, some things happen," Collins said. "He keeps it moving, he gets hit with a pitch, draws a walk, or gets a hit."

Besides, Collins believes Tejada is still showing signs of fatigue after playing almost all of the Mets' games since late June.

If you're so inclined, follow along on Twitter (@MarcCarig). If you correctly predict the Met who knocks in his team's fourth run of the game, you get an automatic retweet.*

The lineups:

Michael Bourn CF

Martin Prado SS

Jayson Heyward RF

Freddie Freeman 1B

Dan Uggla 2B

Brian McCann C

Juan Francisco 3B

Jose Costanza LF

Tommy Hanson RHP

Mike Baxter RF

Daniel Murphy 2B

David Wright 3B

Ike Davis 1B

Lucas Duda LF

Justin Turner SS

Andres Torres CF

Josh Thole C

Chris Young RHP

* Yes, you can guess "none." No, you will not get a retweet.